Append C
Final Declaration and Plan of Action, International Forum of Mayors for Safer Cities, 27 October 1998, Johannesburg

Published in Urban Safety - Safety for All

The Mayors, elected officials and other city representatives participating in the International Forum of Mayors for Safer Cities in Johannesburg on 26 and 27 October 1998 came to the following conclusions:

Delinquency, violence and insecurity increasingly threaten the harmonious and sustainable development of cities, both in the North and in the South.



Crime jeopardises efforts aimed at and investments in the economic and social development of cities.



Drug use and trafficking contribute to the deterioration of the urban environment and are major public health problems related to the propagation of HIV/AIDS.



Of the many causes of crime, poverty (both absolute and relative) remains one of the central challenges in any crime reduction strategy, particularly in the cities of the South.



Safety and security are fundamental elements and basic rights of citizens that contribute to the quality of life and the civic vitality in urban centres.



The response to crime and insecurity should be global, involving all stakeholders at local, national and international levels and should address the root causes of crime.



The mobilisation of all actors under the leadership of local authorities will pave the way to effective and affordable crime prevention and reduction strategies.

Considering the principles mentioned above, the participants stressed the importance of developing a strong solidarity between institutions, civil society, the private sector and citizens in addressing crime and insecurity in cities. Without such solidarity, the efforts to curb delinquency and violence will not bear fruit and social exclusion may be reinforced.

Based on this perspective, participants agreed that all stakeholders, including local and national governments should make a strong commitment to respond to crime in a rigorous, coherent and effective manner. In particular, the importance of the following is underlined:

responding adequately to the demands of the poor for safety – the impact of crime on the poor being dramatically more important than for other social groups;



analysing and taking into account the nature and impact of crime on women, including domestic violence and violence in the streets;



understanding and addressing the specific victimisation of children, as well as developing approaches which address the needs of children at risk;



developing strategies and initiatives targeting youth at risk and focusing on rehabilitation, reintegration and prevention instead of punishment and incarceration; and



clearly affirming the responsibility and financial commitment of each actor, including local authorities, in the concerted effort to create urban safety and prevent crime.

The action of cities will have limited results and impact if these criteria are not met. Taking the above into consideration, the Mayors and city officials participating in the International Forum of Mayors for Safer Cities agreed to actively promote and contribute to the implementation of the following action plan in order to foster urban safety and reduce delinquency, violence and insecurity in future.

The full implementation of this plan will require the support and commitment of all stakeholders, including international organisations, government agencies, community organisations and the private sector. This plan of action calls for a concerted effort in the spirit of solidarity, in order to make cities safer in a sustainable manner.

The Safer Cities approach needs to be more widely supported and implemented in the different countries across the world and more specifically in Africa. The approach focuses on problem-solving partnerships at local level aimed at mobilising key actors through the leadership of municipal authorities. It reinforces the capacity of cities to manage urban safety issues and to develop integrated strategies to prevent crime and insecurity.

To achieve this goal, participants in the Forum declared the following plan of action:

Local authorities are to adopt urban safety as a cross-cutting priority in the strategic planning and development of their cities and involve all local government departments in this process.



Local authorities are to initiate and support a comprehensive crime prevention process, involving all key institutional, community and private sector partners, in order to develop and implement a strategy addressing the needs of each city to prevent and reduce crime in a sustainable way.



Local authorities are to fully integrate the concept of Safer Cities into their municipal or metropolitan police services.



Local authorities are to promote the creation of national Forums of Cities for Urban Safety and/or to actively participate in their activities, focusing on the sharing of experience, the exchange of expertise and the training of local co-ordinators and city officials.



National governments are to integrate the Safer Cities approach in their crime prevention and reduction policies and strategies and provide support for the development of Safer Cities projects and networks in their countries.



The private sector is to become more involved in the conceptualisation and implementation of Safer Cities strategies by contributing their expertise, resources and commitment as corporate citizens preoccupied with the quality of urban safety.



Specialised institutions and other interested stakeholders are to develop specific tools to support local authorities in the development and implementation of Safer Cities projects, such as victim surveys, safety audits, monitoring and evaluation measurements.



Specialised institutions and other interested stakeholders are to develop training programmes on the Safer Cities concept and methodology for urban safety co-ordinators, local elected officials, urban managers and police executives.



All stakeholders are to promote and facilitate the exchange of expertise and access to best and promising practices in the field of urban safety and crime prevention.



International organisations and development agencies are to provide support for Safer Cities projects and networks by facilitating technical assistance and the exchange of expertise.



The United Nations Urban Management Programme, in collaboration with the International Centre for the Prevention of Crime and the European Forum for Urban Safety, accept responsibility to monitor the progress in the implementation of the recommendations of this Forum, and agree to present a report to the next meeting of the International Forum for Urban Poverty that will take place in Côte d’Ivoire at the end of 1999.



The conclusions of the International Forum of Mayors for Safer Cities held in Johannesburg will be officially transmitted to associations of cities, national governments and appropriate international agencies to enable them to follow up on this Declaration.